Immaculée Ilibagiza, author of the book, "Left to Tell." was an award recipient at the Freedom Festival Gala last night. She hid in a 3' by 4' bathroom with 7 other women for 91 days during the Rwanda genocide. With the exception of her brother, her ENTIRE family was murdered, along over a million other people. I'm grateful for her strength to not only survive this horrific ordeal, but also to share her story with the world.
Although I am sure I'll probably NEVER have to go through something as awful as a genocide, I feel it is important to read this story to better understand the world and what people outside of Happy Valley go through daily.
It's amazing to me how many people do not want to read about it. (How could you not!) I had similar reactions when I got back from Romania. When I shared some of the tragic things I saw there, most people's reactions were "I could never go there. My heart is just too big, it'd break to see that." (apparently I don't have a big heart.)
I encourage everyone to get outside of their comfort zone and read this book. The first step to changing the world (or at least changing yourself) is being aware of it.
3 comments:
So true. Just because it breaks your heart does not mean that you ignore it and run away--it means that you feel something, and you do your best to do something.
I just read this a few months ago. It's amazing how uplifting the book is! She has such an amazing understanding of our relationship with God.
Wow! This looks like a great read. Thanks for the recommend.
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